Palace to be plunged into a relegation battle?

News yesterday that Charlton have reported Crystal Palace to the Football League for failure to pay what I assume is the £100,000 balance on the Paddy McCarthy transfer fee from 2008. This comes on top of Palace's latest financial woes which sees them headed to the courts next week to hear a petition from good old HRMC for outstanding monies.

Having been unable to shake Palace from his shoe, Simon Jordan has been increasingly distancing himself financially. The playing staff remain their only assets and in today's markets it's looking like you can barely give them away. The heavily touted Victor Moses remains at Palace and goal saviour Darren Ambrose attracts no interest. Jordan made what he was adamant was his last financial contribution in the Summer when in put £5m in to keep the club afloat. Despite that Palace have had reported problems paying players this season and Jordan has been publicly critical of poor attendances at Selhurst that are hurting finances further.

They are fortunate that they have had a better-than-expected season and sit on the fringes of the play-offs with 37 points. The hope of a windfall from an unlikely play-off appearance or even a distant dream of the Promised Land have probably kept Jordan from pressing the big red button. In the absence of any further investment, he must be very close to taking his club into Administration so can knock the debtors, including ourselves which would presumably give him a sense of satisfaction amidst the embarrassment and humiliation of being a fallen Dragon.

Timing is the big issue. If it's going to happen in the short to medium term, he will need to pick his moment. The first thing to do is stockpile debt and that looks to be nicely under control. The second is to try and ensure that the ten point penalty does not put you down or blow your chances of promotion. Palace's play-off prospects should become clearer over the next six weeks and they may well get a prompt from the courts in the meantime. Put simply, if they fail to keep pace with Leicester, Sheffield United and Cardiff City, then he may opt to take the penalty now rather than try to hold off until it becomes applicable next season. That way, they would drop to the fringes of the relegation zone and have a chance of surviving and beginning next season without a ten point deficit.

The message boards are alive with debate on this topic and there seems plenty of sympathy for Palace. Personally speaking, people who live in glasses houses really shouldn't throw stones and you should be careful what you wish for but that won't stop me opening a bottle of champagne amid a fit of hysterics if Palace's predicament worsens significantly. I am afraid I owe them that and they would be celebrating wildly at our expense if they could. Simon Jordan has spent a long time setting himself up for this fall so enjoy it when it comes. I only wish he loses more of his fortune and learns to gain some humility in the process.